FR 96/12546, WO 91/107662, and WO 96/14582 disclose automatic apparatuses for immunological assay essentially comprising means for supporting, guiding, and stepwise displacement of reaction vessels along a path having a predetermined number of positions, a turntable supporting samples to be analyzed, a turntable supporting reagents, means for taking determined quantities of samples and of reagents, and for injecting said taken quantities into the reaction vessels, means for washing the vessels, means for optically reading the results of the assays, and a controlling computer system enabling preprogrammed assay cycles to be performed corresponding to single-reagent or two-reagent assays, said known apparatuses operating at a rate of about 120 assays per hour to 360 assays per hour for the second apparatus.
The apparatus described in international application WO 96/14582 also differs in that it is designed to operate with reaction modules which are parts molded out of transparent plastics material and comprise a plurality of reaction vessels in alignment that are secured to one another, said reaction modules being mass-produced at a very low cost price, thus making it possible to discard them after a single use. Furthermore, such reaction modules are suitable for stacking, thus making them easier to package and also making it easier to stack them in automatic feed means of the apparatus.
FR 96/12546 proposes apparatus of the above-specified type, comprising means for supporting, guiding, and stepwise displacement of sets of reaction vessels along a path comprising a predetermined number of positions, means for supporting samples to be analyzed, means for supporting reagents, means for taking determined quantities of samples and of reagents, and for injecting the taken quantities into the reaction vessels, together with means for washing the vessels, means for reading the results, and means for feeding sets of reaction vessels and for ejecting sets of used vessels, wherein the path of the sets of reaction vessels is rectangular in shape and has two long sides defined by parallel rectilinear support and guide rails for the sets of vessels, and two short sides defined by means for displacing the sets of vessels transversely over three positions comprising two end positions on the long sides of the path and an intermediate position which constitutes the position for ejecting a set of used vessels and the position for feeding a set of new vessels.
Those apparatuses use color-measuring means for reading results through the light-transparent walls of the vessels.
Automatic apparatuses are also known for performing immunological assay, which apparatuses are provided with means for reading the luminescence of the reaction mixture. The apparatuses of known types comprise a dark chamber fitted with light-measuring means for measuring brightness, means for transferring reaction mixtures from a vessel into the dark chamber, means for washing the dark chamber and transfer means, and means for decontaminating the dark chamber and transfer means. As a result, such automatic immunological assay apparatuses are extremely complex and present a cost price that is high.